Providence
by Taisi
Summary: "You know, Zoro," he says, "I broke my end of that deal." 'If you ever come between me and my dream—' Ah, but then, "So did I." (Drabble, nakamaship.)


A/N: Written for a prompt on tumblr! It sure has been a while since I've contributed to this fandom- I _know_ I'm rusty, but I hope you all stay patient with me while I work my way back into the groove. (:

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Three bottles of rum have loosened his tongue, and when warm bodies crowd him, and flushed faces cajole _, "please, please,"_ he says, much too easily, "Alright, then. What story do you want to hear?"

The answer, as it turns out, is—

"Yours! It isn't in Nami's log," Usopp tells him, leaning forward in earnest or excitement, "you were before her. You were before _all_ of us, and it just occurred to me I never asked!"

Zoro blinks at him, then around at the circle of eager faces he's been surrounded by. "You want to know why I joined his crew?"

The love-cook looks like he really couldn't care one way or the other, for all that he seems to be listening intently, and everyone else offers an emphatic affirmative, their eyes outshining the stars. Luffy is grinning at him over the rim of a tankard of sweet juice, the face of someone who knows exactly what's coming, and it makes Zoro grin, too.

Their nakama expect something thrilling and romantic, Zoro's almost certain, when what really happened was, "He made a deal with me."

He could elaborate, if he really wanted to. He could tell his friends about the weeks in the sun without food and drink, tied to a post in a yard like an animal. About the years before that, spent wandering towards a goal without ever making forward progress; a third sword on his hip that seemed to weigh a hundred pounds some days; a name for himself carved out of claimed bounties and the solitary figure he struck, wherever he came and went; the rumors that whispered _demon._

He could tell them about Luffy, that day, skinny and scrawny, with a smile wider almost than he was _._ Putting out a hand to a stranger, in a few brief seconds that changed the world.

He gave Zoro _direction._ Zoro has never been lost since.

There's a lot more he could tell them, but he settles for a sideways smile; a slanting, narrow thing that anyone who didn't know him would probably miss, and says, "That's all there is to it."

Luffy returns his smile with a bubble of laughter, and while their nakama are looking disgruntled, looking between the two of them in disdain, there's a fondness in their eyes and soft edges to their scowls. Robin hides a delicate chuckle behind her hand, always knowing more than she lets on, and Sanji rubs out his cigarette with a scoff.

"How in the _hell_ did you two manage to find each other, when half the time you can't even find the _bathroom?_ "

"Fate is so mysterious!"

It dissolves into teasing and laughter from there, and as Brook strikes up a silly song on his guitar, Nami rolls her eyes, shares a secret smile with Robin, and pens something into her log that Zoro can't make out.

He reclines in the grassy deck while the party moves on to full swing, warm and heavy with alcohol. His nakama's cheer fills the air with something rich and sweet, something that wraps fingers around his heart and holds fast to it, and tonight he's content to close his eye and be held.

It could be moments or hours later, but he's brought up from his doze by the voice of his captain.

"You know, Zoro," he says, "I broke my end of that deal."

' _If you ever come between me and my dream—'_

Ah, but then, "So did I." Almost three years later, he's more than comfortable with the idea that he will never hold true to the bargain that brought him home under this flag in the first place. He shifts his weight to get more comfortable, the grass rustling beneath his ear, and adds, "Guess there was more to it than just that, after all."

Luffy laughs again, something thrilled and delighted, and in the next moment the familiar weight of a worn straw hat settles on Zoro's head. The frayed brim slips over his face, so he can't see what Luffy looks like, but he can hear the smile in his voice as plainly as their musician's guitar.

"Guess so!"

And fate, Zoro decides, is kind.


End file.
